I wasn’t going to get this year’s incremental release, but got caught up in release-mania. So it’s here on the desk with me. I’ve given it a go for a few hours now and here are my thoughts.

Graphics and Presentation

Say what you like about EA, but they know how to present a game to you. From the spin-tingling introductory video, to the menus and options and of course the in-game graphics, this game looks great. There are still some small inconsistencies at times with how players move or react, and the occasional clipping error, but nothing too noticeable or worth worrying about.

There are more than ever incidental off-field and play-is-stopped clips that are entertaining initially, and skipped easily enough eventually. It’s certainly the best looking Madden yet (which should always be the case for the latest release!)

Gameplay

Gameflow is this year’s big addition. Though really it’s not that big. You can allow the OC or DC to call the next play immediately after the next one. There’s no doubt that this speeds things up, and there is a certain satisfaction to playing with ‘someone’ else calling the plays though I wasn’t always happy with the plays called. This can be tweaked, and I will spend some time in there to get it more to my liking. This feature can also be turned off, and before any play you can open the playbook and find the plays that you want to.

Some elements have been tweaked to be more realistic (it seems to me anyway). Kick returning, for instance. 30 yard line used to be par for me but now it’s much more close to the 20 yard line now. There is no sprint button anymore, so running is easier now that’s been taken away. The 0-line still seem to fold very quickly, but that might be the ‘Skins.

Pre-snap controls have also been changed, and take some getting used to. Things are an extra press away, but the system doesn’t take too much getting used to. After just an hour I was able to send Cooley on a slant route without thinking about it. Defensive adjustments are still hard-work, but I’ve always found that to be the case.

Sound and Music

The in-stadium stuff is better than ever. Added to the ambient noise and stadium announcements are team specific chants and choruses that really add depth and feeling. Your co-ordinators also speak to you in radio style and if you’ve got a headset plugged in then they communicate through that, which is a really nice touch.

Being met by Song 2 by Blur was a bit jarring though. Although I know the song is well loved in sports-circles for its powerful sound and sing-along “woo-hoo!”, it’s thirteen years old! The rest of the EA Trax are there and it’s heavily guitar-based which means for me it’s one of the best Trax there has been. Welcome To The Jungle was a very pleasant surprise though.

Commentary is… well, it is what it is. It’s not awful, and a lot of time it’s pretty accurate. But naturally there is a lot of repetition. Certainly from Cris Collinsworth. There’s still the issue with Madden Moments where the commentators say things like “… gets his first touch!” when you start a Moment deep in the 4th. That grates more than it probably should.

Game Modes

Online has been tweaked and expanded, but I don’t play online. Nothing else seems to have changed much, if at all. Franchise mode in particular seems identical. That’s a little disappointing. Madden Moments are here again, and although I’ve not gone through them all yet I think they’re
all from last season.

In Closing

Although there is no ‘big’ change this year, I’m enjoying Madden 11 more than I enjoyed 10. All the little touches sneak up on you and suddenly it’s all a lot of fun. I’ve had some great close, natural-feeling games so far. All the tweaks seem to work.

I’d like to see Wembley Stadium included in next year’s game though (assuming we get a game!)

I have the XBox 360 version, but it’s available on other platforms too.